Best Optus phone: 5 we recommend

The phones to use on the Optus network

There are plenty of reasons to be an Optus customer at the moment. Not only is the telco building out its new 1800MHz 4G network, but it's tier-jumping plans give you better control of your mobile spending.

The Optus handset range is a curious mixture of old and new. There is the best and brightest from the big names, most of which are listed below; plus a couple of surprises too.

HTC One M8

Following up the original HTC One can't have been an easy task, but the HTC One M8 keeps all the best bits and manages to re-invents things enough to make it one of our most recommended smartphones on the market right now.

The design is still spectacular, one that Apple and LG will have an interesting time competing against, and the Snapdragon 801 processor boosts the battery life dramatically.

If we were to look really hard to point at a fault, it would be that the camera hasn't been given a huge upgrade, but it is still one of the best you'll find on a smartphone.

But with the new processor and some clever innards, you'll be hard pressed to not want this phone once you've had the opportunity to hold it for yourself.

Apple iPhone 5S

Is it fair to describe the iPhone as an "oldie but a goodie"? After talking about the iPhone for as many years as we have, it is the first thing to pop into our heads.

Of course, the iPhone 5 is the latest and greatest in Apple's arsenal, and is among the best phones in the Optus catalogue. It sports a much more powerful processor than the iPhone 5, excellent camera and new Touch ID, with iOS 7 bringing lots of new flavour to the somewhat tired OS.

Keep in mind though that the iPhone 6 will likely be coming out in a few months time. If you want an iPhone, we recommend you holding off till then, because even if the iPhone 6 ends up being out of your wallet's range, the 5S will see a significant price drop.

Then there's also the iPhone 5C to consider, if you're after something cheaper, more colourful, but not as powerful.

Sony Xperia Z2

Despite releasing two iterations of the Xperia Z last year, Sony has come out swinging this year with the impressive Xperia Z2.

It might look a little heavy in the hand, but the design still feels premium and surprisingly lighter than it looks. And with its good looks, it proves to be more robust than Samsung's spill-proof Galaxy S5, touting a rating of IP58.

This great all-rounder does everything its top-end competitors do, but improves on its own predecessors with a new screen, sturdy and speedy hardware and 4K video recording. Just be careful all the handset's slots are closed before dunking it in a swimming pool.

LG G2

It may be a surprise to see LG on our list, but there's a lot to recommend the LG G2, and at an extremely affordable price point, Optus has the phone on offer for $0 monthly repayments on most of its plans.

The only things that we disliked about this handset is the cluttered UI (pull down the notifications bar and you'll see why), and with the plastic casing, it doesn't have the premium feel the HTC One M8 or iPhone 5S.

But launching at an affordable price point is a really nice touch from LG, especially considering the decent specs it comes boasting.